Three draws in three Group D games gave the Swedes third place, with the United States topping the standings and the Matildas stealing second place thanks to the point won in Edmonton against the lacklustre Scandinavians.

With 16 of the 24 teams making it to the knockout stages the Swedes still have a chance to go through, but their progress is entirely dependent on results in Groups E and F, which will be decided on Wednesday.

“Today I’m disappointed, yes,” coach Sundhage told Swedish state radio after the draw that felt like a defeat. “Today, I’m a loser.”

Sundhage’s side have been strangely flat in Canada, throwing away the lead in a 3-3 draw with Nigeria before earning a creditable draw against tournament favourites the U.S.

They battled hard against Australia but with striker Lotta Schelin putting in another sub-par performance, they lacked the spark needed to ignite their World Cup campaign.

“Our play didn’t lead to the result we wanted,” a disappointed Sundhage said. “In the last 15 minutes we hoped for more chances with the upper hand that we had.

“I would have liked to have seen more crosses, but there was too much holding the ball and there are no points to be had from that.”

There are several combinations of results that mightthrow the Swedes a lifeline and Sundhage remained positive.

“We haven’t lost and we’ve scored four goals — I’ll take that in the plus column,” she told Swedish radio.

“We have had to take the hardest route and we might still go through tomorrow. If we get a second chance, we’re really going to take it.”